A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 01 eBook

We arrived in the province of Gasaria, or Casaria,
which is of a triangular form, having a city named
Kersova on its western extremity, in which St Clement
suffered martyrdom. While sailing past that city,
we saw an island containing a church, which is said
to have been built by the angels. In the middle
of this province, and on a cape to the south, stands
the city of Soldaia, directly facing Synope.
And here all merchants land who come from Turkey,
in their way to the north, and embark here again on
their return from Russia and the north for Turkey;
these latter bring ermines and martins, and other
valuable furs, and the former carry cloths made of
cotton, or bombasins, and silk webs, and aromatic spices.
On the east of this province is the city of Matriga[3],
where the Tanais flows into the Pontus, by a mouth
of twelve miles wide[4]. Before this river enters
the Euxine, it forms itself into a sea towards the
north, of seven hundred miles in length and breadth,
but in no place above six paces deep, so that it is
not navigable for large vessels: For which reason,
the merchants of Constantinople, when they arrive
at the city of Matriga, send their barks to the Tanais,
where they purchase dried fish, sturgeons, thosas,
barbels, and many other sorts of fish.

This province of Casaria has the sea on three sides;
on the west, where stands Kersova, or the city of
St Clement; on the south, where is the city of Soldaia,
at which we landed; and on the east, where Matriga
is situated at the mouth of the Tanais. To the
east of that mouth is the city of Zikia, and the countries
of the Suevi and Hiberi still further east, all of
which are not under the dominion of the Tartars.
To the south is Trebisond, which has its own prince,
named Guido, who, although of the imperial race of
Constantinople, is under the Tartar dominion; and next
to it is Synope, which belongs to the sultan of the
Turks, who is likewise subjected to the Tartars.
Beyond this is the country of Vastacius, whose son
is named Astar, after his maternal grandfather, and
this country is not under the dominion of the Tartars.
From the mouth of the Tanais to the Danube, and even
beyond the Danube towards Constantinople, including
Walachia, which is the country of Assanus, and the
lesser Bulgaria as far as Solonia, pay tribute to the
Tartars, who of late years have exacted an axe from
each family, and all the corn which they find in heaps,
in addition to the regular tribute.

We landed at Soldaia[5] on the 21st of May, where
certain merchants of Constantinople had previously
arrived, who reported that ambassadors from the Holy
Land were coming thither, on their way to Sartach;
although I had publickly declared on palm Sunday,
in the church of St Sophia, that I was no ambassador
from you or any one, and only travelled to these infidels,
in conformity with the rule of our order. On
our arrival, these merchants advised me to be cautious
of what I said; for, as they had already reported